On this day I am truly grateful to all the men and women of our country, and the world, who fought to preserve our American freedoms. This morning, I woke up thinking about all those who valiantly fought, suffered, and or died for our freedoms. Which, today, seems taken for granted by some, yet still lives in the grateful hearts of so many more.

As the sun sets on this special day, I am still left with a grateful heart for our Freedom of Religion. Which, to me, still remains the Jewel in America’s Crown. When I think back on how much I have evolved in this life, and of a time when one could be declared mentally incompetent in America simply for daring to believe in a different religion, I am truly humbled.

Associated Press

On August 20, 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said it best in a speech that, today, still resonates in the depths our humanity:

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” ~Sir Winston Churchill

And so, on this special day, we remember all of our honorable warriors well, always.

Originally posted, untitled, on my Facebook page during Holy Week just before Easter 2017.

Wow! I’m in tears of joy here. In a previous post re Palm Sunday, I mention the church of my childhood. And today, Holy Spirit leads me to this traditional recording of “Walking Up the King’s Highway (Loretta Oliver)”, a song we use to sing when I was a teenager in our Junior Choir.

Always the best from God, this is a reunion choir of one of the most renowned traditional churches in Chicago: Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church founded by the legendary Rev. Clay Evans. Still here, Rev. Evans hosted Dr. King when he visited Chicago.

Clearly Rev. Clay Evans, Rev. C. L. Franklin of Detroit (Aretha Franklin’s father) and Chicago’s Rev A. P. Jackson of Liberty Baptist Church, who also hosted Dr. King, all belong to that great pantheon of African American preachers who, much like Dr. Martin Luther King, upheld the dignity of our people during hard times, and still do.

Friends, if ever you wonder how African Americans made it through all the pain and humiliation projected upon our community, either visit a traditional African American church or listen to the following songs on YouTube, or both!

Obviously, Donald Trump had never experienced such jubilation when he harshly misjudged African American life during his presidential campaign. Well Donald, it’s never too late. Who knows, you may even get the real Holy Spirit and change for the better. Meanwhile, the beat continues.

A prayer for our people, love this song by Joe Williams (1918-1999), one of America’s Jazz-Blues singers of all times. When Ellington wrote Come Sunday, c. 1943, social injustices were extraordinarily hard on Black folks.

Sanctioned by nationwide “Jim Crow” laws and customs, many White Americans thought themselves justified in denying Blacks, and other targeted groups, the life-sustaining benefits of their own country.

Sadly, these historic attitudes were exacerbated by crocked politicians trying to get over, and many of them did!

Sadder still, is the fact that today’s crocked politicians are still using inherent social divisions to win elections so as to justify stealing from the national treasury, one that they have sworn to serve and protect.

What way-too-many White folks, though not all, can’t (or won’t) see is that their socialized attitudes against other Americans are now being used against them!

Thus, in view of the House’s recent anti-Healthcare vote amid more tax breaks for the wealthy, seems the crooks in Congress are now trying to justify stealing our tax dollars from our social programs that affords health, education, and welfare for us all, while giving tax-breaks to the avaricious, over-fed people among us.

If Duke Ellington were here today, I like to think that he would dedicate “Come Sunday” to all Americans. And urge us to wake up and realize that we are all in this together. That our happy American lifestyle depends on it!

No matter the color of your skin or tribal alliances, we all are affected by the sick politicians in our government today who are ever proving that they are woefully incapable of reason and empathy for us, the American people, or anyone else for that matter!

Thinking of Mom while listening to this beloved gospel song: “Too Close to Heaven” by Prof. Alex Bradford.

Thankfully, Mom is still on the planet. And I am truly a blessed daughter today: Able to love myself that brings peace, love others that dispels fear of people, and look upon the world with hope instead of dread.

Praises be to my Mom, I would not have made it this far without her earthly assistance and heavenly prayers.

Of course, I like Oprah, as do most of us, have been a fan since her 1986 TV premier. Weekly, I look forward to my favorite OWN shows. And dearly love the positive work that Oprah is doing toward world peace and happiness, which is poised to help a lot of people and likely does.

What I don’t like is the subject of above mentioned article about “Homophobic Preachers”. Who, to me, gives religion a bad name along with Narrow-minded Fundamentalists (that makes you want to scream at your TV), Child Molesting Priests, Islamic Extremists, and other woefully misguided folks that misuse religion to validate their own confused beliefs.

That said, the larger question is, should we ban all misguided speakers from our public forums? Though some thoughts are so toxic that such must surely be guarded against; still, the larger answer has to be an emphatic “No”!

That is, if we want our society to remain free and open to progressive thoughts that would not be aired if left to our own flawed thinking, however right we think we are. Thanks to our free press and social media, we can continue to discuss religion openly. Of course, we can also turn off our televisions or choose another channel. The choice is ours.

Note: Oprah’s Talk Show ran for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986 to May 25, 2011.